This Thing Between Us
by Cathy Gilmore
Summary: Rory and Jess grew up together. Unfortunately, they can’t stand each other. But they have never been able to break free off each other. And now at 25, they realise they will always be one little thing tying them together.
1. What Keeps Us Together

**This Thing Between Us**

**Chapter 1 – What ****keeps us together.**

**A/N: This is just an idea I've been playing around with for a while now, let me know what you think. The next chapter of 'Crooked Smile," should be up shortly, I just have a bit of fiddling to do with the ending. Enjoy!**

Jess Mariano was a successful novelist and publisher, living in Manhattan. Despite a few scrapes in his teen years, he led a very decent life; and he would be the first to admit he was blessed. All of his friends wanted to be him that was for sure. There were many reasons for this, and one example was lying naked next to him. Carole, or Caroline, well something with a 'C,' was blonde and leggy, a typical Friday night conquest for him. However, unlike most of his weekends, he had been completely free, so to save him a lot of time, she'd ended up staying the whole weekend.

She had been exceptional entertainment, really and truly talented, but he now he had to get rid of her.

"Mmm, Morning." She said, awaking, and smiling sweetly at him.

"Err, hey." He replied, awkwardly.

"So what do you want to do today?"

"Today? Today I'm-" He was cut off, when his phone on the bedside table began to vibrate. Saved by the bell. Phew! He picked up the phone to read the text, and then groaned. There was always a price, wasn't there?

"Err, today, I have to go to work." He said getting out of bed and starting to get dressed.

"I thought you were a novelist? Don't you work from home?"

"And I'm a publicist. But it's nothing to do with either of those. I also do some pieces for 'Read and Rogue," magazine, and the "Editor," is not happy with my latest one so I've got to go down there and sort it all out. But, err, you have breakfast – whatever you want, there's plenty in the fridge, and I'll, err, call you sometime. Bye!" And with that he left, as fast as he could.

He managed to get a cab and get down town to magazine's office building in less than twenty-five minutes. What was her problem now?! Did he use the wrong typeface again? Was the ink smudged? Did he somehow offend her in his article about how the music world could improve its sorry state? What ever it was, he was sure she had a list of bullet points a mile long, and a print out of his piece covered in so much read pen it looked as if it had been present at the St Valentine's' Day Massacre.

As soon as he got outside her office, on the top floor, he took a moment to observe her through the glass door. He could never understand what her problem was with him. With every other member of the staff she was friendly though firm, and she had always tried to find the good in people; well everyone except him. The sad thing was that he had known her practically his whole life; in fact he probably knew her better than anyone else alive. But for some reason he had never been able to get on her good side. Maybe he stole her juice box one day in Kindergarten or something. She, and her crazy mother, tended to hold grudges over the most infantile things. And the even sadder thing was, he'd never been able to shake her off. Not through pre-school, middle school, high school, or even college. Their mothers were best friends. Her Mom was now even married to his Uncle Luke, even though they didn't live in Stars Hollow anymore, it still made holiday dinners rather unpleasant. And now she was his boss. Well, part time, at least. Both of them moving to the city wasn't really a co-incidence, it was really the only thing that made sense for their situation, but it was just one of the never ending list of things that kept their lives entwined forever.

But whatever the reason she needed to see him for, it was time to face her wrath. He knocked briefly on her door, and then let himself in. Purely to irritate her of course.

"Oh, please, do come in!" She said, not looking up from the papers on her desk.

"I did." He answered back, sitting on the chair in front of her desk. "So, what was it that you dragged me over here so abruptly for! Did I miss a comma or a semi-colon? You're the one that wanted me to write for this magazine anyway. You came to me, remember that." She rolled her eyes, finely looking up at him.

"Oh, what's the matter? Did I interrupt your weekend of debauchery?"

"No," he replied, smirking at her. "It had pretty much drawn to a close, you actually helped me to get rid of her, so thanks for that!"

"You're a PIG! Did you know that?!"

"Well, as a matter of fact yes I did. You remind me constantly." A pause descended upon them as she just stared at him. It was as though she was trying to burn a hole through him. "Look, not that I'm not enjoying this staring contest but what did you want to see me for? What's wrong with my article this time?"

"Nothing."

"Come again?"

"There's nothing wrong with your article."

"Well, that's a first!"

"Mmmm." She murmured, in agreement.

"So, what's this all about?"

"I got a phone call just before I asked you to come over here."

"From?"

"Emma Copleur, she's-"

"I know who she is! I've met her just as much as you have." he insisted, almost insulted that she thought he remember. "What does she want?"

"To see us. Today."

"Why? What's so urgent? Is she-"

"She's fine." She answered, anticipating his question. "Emma just wants to discuss a few things with us."

"You couldn't have told me this on the phone?"

"Well, yes, I suppose I could, but that wouldn't have put you out, now, would it?" she giggled at him, and he groaned. "But while you're here you can brief Harrison on your new book, comes out next month doesn't it"

"Yep"

"What's it about again?"

"An irritated writer that kills his editor with a staple gun!"

----------------- Later that the day ----------- Emma Copleur's Office ---------------

Rory and Jess sat alone in a cream washed office, waiting for Emma to arrive. Jess couldn't help but chuckle a little to himself.

"What do you find so amusing?"

"Just thinking."

"There really is a first time for everything?"

"Can't I say one thing without you ribbing me?"

"Fine. What are you thinking?"

"This just reminds me of when we were both dragged to the Principle's office." He could see a small smile playing on her lips.

"Which time?"

"There was that time in first grade when we'd started a paint fight over that production of 'Oliver Twist.'"

"Completely your fault."

"My fault?!"

"Yes, I was clearly a better Artful Dodger than you."

"You were a GIRL!"

"So! It's called acting!"

"Whatever." He said, turning away from her. He then began to smirk again. "And what about that time in high school, when Headmaster Charleston hauled us in to his office after we were caught-"

"JESS! Would you please just shut up!"

"Okay, sorry for trying to make polite conversation. What's she dragged us down here for anyway?"

"I'm not sure. It's something she said she needed to discuss with us in person."

"That's all she said?"

"Yes. Now shut up." He just rolled his eyes.

"Hey, why does she always phone you anyway?"

"What's supposed to mean?"

"I mean why does she always phone _you_? I'm in this as well, she's seen me just as much as she's seen you, if not more."

"MORE? How exactly do you figure that you've been here more?!" she asked incredulously. The sodding nerve of the man.

"I've been to every meeting and every fund raiser that they advertise on those painful newsletters they send out every week."

"So, have I! And every bake sale!"

"So have I. I even brought in a homemade chocolate bunt cake." She scowled at him. "Ok, so it wasn't my home it was made in. But I gave 'Molly's bakery' a bonus so it was completely covered in sprinkles, just the way that Lori likes it."

"Yeah! And we all know what kind of bonus it was that you gave to Molly!" Jess smirked, uncontrollably.

"But why do you care about that?"

"I don't! But perhaps this answers your original question. Maybe the reason Emma always calls me is because I'm easier to get hold of. If Lori an had accident, they would have to go through half the listed female population of New York before they got hold of you!"

"Now, wait just a min-" but before he could finish he was interrupted, by the opening of the office door. Then entered a pretty young black woman, around thirty with short braided hair and glasses; closely followed by a small girl, with long dark curly hair and bright blue eyes. She smiled brightly when she saw the two of them together.

"Hi Mommy, Hi Daddy!"

"Hi sweetie!" "Hey, bumblebee!"


	2. Will We Ever Learn?

**Disclaimer** - I do not own Gilmore Girls. Does this really need to be said?

**Warning** - This chapter does contain some mature themes.

**This Thing Between Us**

**Chapter 2 – Will we ever learn?**

Lori was a bright and even-tempered five-year-old girl. She had Rory's eyes and Jess' hair and complexion. She was a complete mixture of the two of them, both in looks and in personality. She had Rory's kind nature but Jess' forwardness. The one thing that Jess and Rory could always agree on was that they would never be without her.

"Hi Mommy, Hi Daddy," she smiled happily at them.

"Hi sweetie," said Rory, smiling at her daughter. "Hey, Bumblebee." Said Jess affectionately, as he signalled for her to come and sit on his lap.

"Here, Daddy, look what I made for you." She said as she handed him a piece of paper with her childish drawing on it.

"Oh, that's beautiful sweetie. What is it?" She giggled.

"It's Stars Hollow Daddy, where me and Mommy went this weekend. Mommy told me to draw you a picture of what we did there to show you because you couldn't come."

"Well, it's very nice," he said, kissing her forehead. But when he looked up to see a rather annoyed look on Rory's face.

"Yes, Jess. As you were too 'busy' to join us." He ignored her. He had, in all honesty, thought that he had a meeting about the release of his new book, but it was cancelled at the last minute. But he wasn't going to justify himself to Rory. Besides, she was always happier when she was pissed at him

Emma watched the interaction between the 'family' with great interest. Lori was an extremely happy and well cared for child, but there was a certain amount of tension between her parents. It worried her slightly that Lori was going to pick up on it one day. Rory and Jess were still rather young, and in many ways still growing up themselves. However, that wasn't what this meeting was about.

"So, why don't we get down to business, shall we," Emma smiled, and sat down behind her desk. "Now, first of all I'm sorry if my phone call before worried you, there's nothing wrong but this is a matter which I feel we need to discuss." They both nodded in understanding, as did Lori, but more than likely was just copying what her parents did. "Well, I want you to know how much this school loves having Lori here. And you like being here with us, don't you Lori?"

"Sure," she answered cryptically. She was so much like her father at times. Jess couldn't help but chuckle and stroke her hair.

"Well, as I'm sure you are both aware you have a very clever little girl here."

"We know," smiled Rory and reached over to stroke her daughter's cheek affectionately. "Trust me, she's always telling us." Emma laughed a little.

"Well, now she's told a lot of other people. Recently, as you know the children took a standard IQ and general skills test, so we could assess their learning abilities more accurately. And Lori scored very highly. Exceptionally in fact."

"Really? Err, how well? I mean, err, what does this mean now?" Rory was suddenly in a fluster. Should they look at more advanced schools? Move her up a grade? Would she want to? A myriad of thoughts were flurrying around her head, and she grew increasingly annoyed at the fact that Jess seemed completely unaffected by this.

"Lori got one of the highest scores in the tri-state area, and while this school does not want to lose Lori-"

"Who would?" piped in Lori. Jess shook his head.

"Settle down, kid."

"While we don't want to lose her,' continued Emma, "we want what's best for her more, which is why we would like you to consider some of the following options. Although we are a good school, there are those that are perhaps more suited for Lori's level."

"Move schools?" Lori suddenly became very agitated and upset, "But what about Becky, and Lily and-"

"Lori, sweetie, we're just looking at options for now, nothing's going to happen yet. And if it does you will make lots of new friends and we'll make sure you see you're old ones as often as possible, ok?" Lori's gloomy face seemed to lift a bit.

"Ok." She said quietly, and snuggled more closely into Jess. He kissed her for head again, and then gave her an Eskimo kiss. Jess always knew what to do to calm her down. As Rory watched the interaction between the father and daughter, she smiled despite herself. She had to admit it; Jess was a wonderful father. He was so warm and giving to Lori. She just wished he could be like that all the time.

"Err, Rory." Emma tried to recapture Rory's attention but she knew that for those brief few seconds, it was pointless. Lori and Jess were adorable with each other. This would be the point of view of any outsider. He loved her more than anything else alive. As any father should. When Rory watched the way that the father and daughter connected with each other, she always got chills. She loved how he didn't care how silly he looked when he played with her. It was the only time she ever saw him drop his bad boy persona, even to this day. And she loved how Lori was so adamant that he was the 'World's Best Daddy.' Although she did have proof, it was on his coffee mug.

"Rory!" Rory jumped suddenly at the sound of Emma trying to re-grab her attention.

"Oh, sorry I got lost for a minute there."

"As, I was saying, although we don't want to lose Lori, there are perhaps more suitable schools for her abilities. I sometimes fear that we don't really have the staff or facilities to really do her justice."

"What about simply moving her up grade, rather than a completely different school." Asked Jess, finally weighing in.

"Now, that's something that I would not recommend. While her academic skills would be tested more, we have to remember that everything else would be advancing to. Putting her with older kids could be very intimidating, and often have the reverse affect."

"And they're all poopy heads, Daddy!"

"Lori," Rory warned her, "that's not a nice thing to say about other people."

"But you said Daddy was-"

"Lori! That's enough!" Rory could feel Jess glaring at her. She tried very hard not to talk ill of Jess in front of Lori, and she knew he did the same. But he could be so frustrating sometimes, especially now that they worked together on occasion. And things just tended to slip out; particularly when she didn't think Lori was listening. But being a curious five years old, she very often was.

"Anyway," Emma continued, trying to break the tension in the room. "I have several brochures here for you to look at. These are all exceptional schools, with excellent credentials, particularly at Lori's age group. However, they are all quite expensive, but they do have scholarship programmes and reasonable payment plans-"

"The money's not an issue." Stated Jess, simply.

"Right, well, unless you have any further questions, I think that that concludes our meeting. It was very nice to see you both again. Rory, Jess," shaking their hands. "I hope to see you again soon, and I'll see you tomorrow Lori."

"See you tomorrow."

- Outside the school building -

"See, I told you I was a genius, Daddy."

"Oh, I never doubted it," he laughed and scooped her up, and carried her on his hip down the steps to the main street. Rory followed carrying Lori's book bag and lunchbox. "So, what are you girls up to now?"

"We're going home to have dinner, a bath and then bed. Her big brain needs a rest."

"Oh, Mommy-"

"No, 'Oh, Mommy-ing me,' little miss, you've had a long weekend and a long day, you're going to bed early."

"Will you come and have dinner with us Daddy. You could read me a story and tuck me in?" Rory and Jess glanced at each other, awkwardly.

"Err, I don't know bumblebee -" he said looking into her big saucer blue eyes, trying not to upset her. But in the end, it was Rory who gave in first.

"Jess, do you have plans tonight?' asked Rory, sighing.

"Err, well, no, none at all."

"Then you should come and have dinner with us. You didn't get to see her this weekend, I'm sure she's dying to tell you all about it, aren't you Lori?"

"Oooo, yes! Daddy do you remember Kirk?" she asked excitedly.

"Lets get a cab first sweetie and then you can tell me all about it. "

"That's okay Jess, I brought my car. I'm parked around the corner."

"Okay. So should we pick something up on the way back to your place or just order when we get there?"

"What makes you think that I won't cook?' Both Jess and Lori stared at her for a moment and then burst out laughing. "Oh, come on you two, I'm not that bad!" But they continued to laugh. "Oh, alright. Chinese?"

"PIZZA!" Lori, yelled, excitedly.

"I thought you two, where Gilmore girls? Where are your iron stomachs? Lets get both. There's 'the China doll,' and 'Gippeto's Pizzeria,' on the same block as you. You love them both. Lets just get moving or it will be your bedtime missy before you've had dinner."

- Later At Rory's Apartment -

If someone had snapped a photograph of the scene now playing out in Rory's kitchen it would have looked to be a very pleasant, if a somewhat quirky scene, of a young family wading their way through half of the chicken column from the local Chinese restaurant, and two heavily topped pizzas on 'Hello Kitty' plates, telling each other about their day. And that was exactly what was happening. All the tension that existed between Rory and Jess seemed to disappear whenever they just sat down and listened to their energetic five year old tell them all about her day, and her father about her weekend.

"And then Mr Kirk sat their for another ten minutes deciding whether or not he was going to have another cup of coffee, until Uncle Luke got all mad and red and then he grabbed Mr Kirk by his hair and he threw him out of the diner. Grandma said that he used to do that to you too, and I laughed. And then Mr Dosey came in singing with all these funny dressed ladies with chocolates and they were playing with these funny whistles and then Uncle Luke got mad and red again and then started yelling at Mr Dosey and then he took Mr Dosey's whistle and he snapped it in half and then Grandma started booing and laughing, making Uncle Luke even madder, and then she let me try some of her coffee." Lori finally finished to take a breath and a last bite of her pizza. "Mommy I'm done, please may I leave the table?"

It took Rory a minute to recover from her daughter's story telling, but finally she replied, "Yes, sweetie, you may but only to go and pick out which bubble bath you want and what pyjamas you want to wear tonight."

"Oh, Mom!"

"Nuh uh. You know your going to bed early. You've had a long day, now go and pick out what you want." Lori scurried off to her bedroom to do as her mother had told her. She was a handful but she would always do what Rory said when she used that tone of voice. So would Jess.

Jess couldn't help but laugh. "I was amazed that she actually stopped talking when she went for that last bite of pizza. She does know she can actually take a breath in the middle of telling a story?"

"Well, if she doesn't I'm sure she will work it out eventually – she is a little genius after all."

"Yeah," Jess chuckled, "What are we going to do about that anyway? Are we going to move her to a different school?"

"Err. Well, we haven't really discussed it yet. Are you doing anything tomorrow? I have the day off so I was going to go through some of these brochures that Emma gave us. So are you free, we could have lunch or something?"

"Err, lunch sure. Where?"

"Just meet me here around one-ish."

"That sounds fine. So, you guys had a nice time this weekend?" He asked, doing his best to make small talk.

"Err, it was fine. Lori pretty much went through all the highlights with you. It was nice to see everyone. Sometimes it still feels weird that I don't see my mum everyday. They're all doing well, though. Lane's kids are pretty big now, so is Bobby. He was pretty quiet most of the time; I guess he takes after the Danes side. Or it could simply be that Lori didn't give a chance to get a word in." Jess chuckled.

"Yeah, that could be it. Did you see-?"

"Your mom? Err, yes, everyday. She said you two haven't spoken for a while."

"No, we haven't." Rory quickly dropped the subject. Liz was like a second mother to Rory but Jess' relationship with her was somewhat tenuous. She was about to say something more when Lori came running out of her bedroom.

"Mommy!" Lori cried from her bedroom, "I'm ready for my bath!"

"Okay Sweetie, err Jess could you finish cleaning up in here while I give her a bath, please?" He nodded, and Rory then moved to follow Lori to the bathroom.

When Lori was finished in the bath and all tucked in, Jess pulled out one of her favourite stories and proceeded to read to her.

"Do the funny voices Daddy!" Jess, never one to disappoint his little girl, obliged though knowing all the while that Rory was listening in, trying her best not to laugh.

Half an hour later, Lori was fast asleep. Jess sat for a moment, just looking at the sleeping child in front of him. His sleeping child; she was perfect. And she was growing so fast. He saw her as often as he could but sometimes he still felt as if he was missing so much. He stroked her hair gently and then kissed her forehead, before heading back into the living room.

He found Rory in the living room, drinking a glass of white wine and pretending to read a book. He could see she was smirking even with the book held right in front of her face.

"What?' he asked irritated.

'I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking it."

"Thinking what?'

"You know what." Rory suddenly started giggling uncontrollably.

"You do the voices! Hahahahahaha!" Jess just stood their waiting for her to finish. "What was that voice you did for the Fairy God Mother?"

"I was going for an eccentric grandmother type."

"Well, you certainly got the eccentric part down." She said soberly, her laughter fading. "But seriously, she really had a good time tonight. She loves it when you're here."

"I know. I love it too." He sighed, sitting down on the sofa. "Do you mind if I have some wine?"

"No, help yourself." He reached over and poured himself a glass, and then collapsed back onto the sofa. Rory was staring at him intently. "What?"

"I was just thinking, you haven't really annoyed me at all this evening."

"Well, that is an accomplishment. Especially after this morning." She laughed and took another sip of wine.

"Oh, come on, that was nothing for us."

"True." He then chuckled to himself, remembering one particularly bad occasion, where an argument between them had led to other people being injured. "Hey, remember when Liz and Lorelai forced us to partner up at that stupid 24 hour dance marathon?"

"Oh, God! Yes!" She grimaced at the memory. Poor Kirk, he was never able to win that contest again.

"Didn't they threaten to put us up for adoption if we didn't enter?" He asked, trying to remember how they made them do it.

"Either that or post our baby pictures on My Space. They really wanted that trophy didn't they? Why did they make us enter again?"

"I think their reasoning was any achievement of their offspring was theirs as well, and so long as they had it in their possession instead of Kirk, they were happy."

"What about us?"

"I think we were immaterial when a massive trophy was involved. It was really their only opportunity to get one; they were never any good at sports. It's where we get it. Well, you, at the very least I know how to run." She rolled her eyes at him.

"No, I mean why did they make us dance together? Why wasn't I with my Mom and you with yours? They must have known it would all end in tears."

"I'm not sure exactly, but it could've been that I didn't want to be seen dancing with my mother until after a lobotomy. Or anyone who acted like her."

"Either that or it was one of their pathetic attempts at making us get along."

"That's possible. If it's true then it's almost a shame they didn't know how well we were getting along in the back of my car the week before. Then no one would have gotten hurt. Well, Liz may have tried to send me to military school but it would have been worth it." He couldn't control his smirk when he saw the red blush rising in her cheeks.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, of course you don't." He took another sip of wine, and then fell silent. Rory, however, continued to stare at him.

"What?" He asked, getting slightly annoyed.

"I was just thinking about how different you are when you're with Lori. It's a shame you aren't like that all the time, well, more of the time. Like now for instance."

"What, you want me to make silly voices and pretend I'm a superhero?" She rolled her eyes and then shook her head and much more surprisingly, moved to be next to him on the couch.

"You know what I mean. You're calmer when you're with her, and less afraid of looking like an idiot and not nearly as cocky. You're almost sweet." He looked up at the last word she said. 'Sweet?' the last time she called him that was when Lori had the chicken pox about five months ago, when he had moved in with them for about a week until the virus was out of her system.

Lori had been even grumpier than was normal for a sick Gilmore Girl, as she had ended up missing the class trip to aquarium, which was one of her favourite places. She seemed to find sea creatures fascinating, and she could list almost all the different varieties of Sharks; that worried Rory and Jess sometimes, but so long as she wasn't swimming with them they thought it was okay. But needless to say, on the day of the missed trip, she had been thoroughly depressed. So, to cheer her up, he went around looking for as many, age appropriate, sea-creature themed movies as possible, no matter how embarrassing it was for him to leave the video store with "The Little Mermaid." For some reason Jess being a caring father really turned Rory on. He smirked as he remembered what happened that day.

_Lori had finally dropped off to sleep after The Little Mermaid, after tucking her in he left the room to find Rory in the kitchen. She was at the sink finishing the dinner pots in the sink._

"_She's asleep." Rory turned around, at his words, surprised._

"_Already?"_

"_Yes. She was pretty tired. I suppose eating pizza with oven gloves on can be pretty stressful."_

"_Hey, she's the one that wouldn't stop scratching. And it wouldn't have been difficult if she wasn't so proud and refused to be fed like a 'baby.'"_

"_Well, she was right, she is a big girl now."_

"_Yes, she is, isn't she?" Before Jess knew what was happening, Rory suddenly started to cry._

"_Hey. Oh, come on, what are you crying for?" He walked up to her, and rubbed her shoulders in an attempt to make her calm down. But she refused to look at him, feeling foolish._

"_Oh, it's nothing I'm just being stupid." But still she was unable to refrain from sobbing. "It's just that, my baby's not a baby anymore. Soon she'll be even bigger and leaving, and- oh," as she continued to cry, Jess tried hard not to laugh at her nonsense, and uncharacteristically pulled her in for a hug._

"_Rory, our daughter just turned five, it's gonna be a while before we're sending her off to college or wherever, this isn't something we have to worry about yet."_

"_Not you, no."_

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_She like's you better than me!"_

"_What? Oh, Rory!"_

"_Well, she does. All she wanted all week was for you to be here."_

"_No, she wanted us both to be here. You know she could never imagine life without her Mommy. You're the staple in her life, I'm the one that seems to just come in and out of it." Rory stared at him shocked._

"_Oh, Jess that's not true."_

"_Isn't it?"_

"_No! I'm sorry if I've ever and if I do give that impression sometimes, you do know how to infuriate me. But you see her nearly every day. And when you don't you'll call incessantly. Seriously Jess, you're ten times the father Jimmy and Chris were put together."_

"_Wow, a compliment from Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, this is a momentous occasion. Maybe I should go and get a camera." She laughed at him._

"_Hey, I'd compliment you more but when Lori's not around you can act like such a jerk you make me forget how sweet you can be." Jess smirked and inched closer to her._

"_You think I can be sweet?"_

"_I – I – I mean with Lori."_

"_No, no, no. You didn't say with Lori, you just said I could be sweet in general." _

"_I also said you could be a jerk!" He chuckled and pulled her up against him, and whispered in her ear._

"_Have you ever thought that maybe, I just like to make you mad?" His breath made her shiver. _

_She closed her eyes as he kissed her behind the ear, and then slowly he moved down her neck. He then kissed along her collarbone, and then back up her throat, until finally meeting her mouth. She gasped, at which point he took full possession of her mouth. She moaned, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Slowly he backed her up against the fridge and began to unbutton her shirt, revealing her lacy black bra. Her hands quickly followed suite and lifted his t-shirt over his head, and then threw it across the kitchen, their lips only parting for a second. She moaned again, running her fingertips up and down the centre of his well, defined torso. Jess finally pulled away from her lips, and stared her straight in the eye. This was her chance to stop it from going any further. But she just stared straight back. It was almost like an x-rated game of 'Chicken.' There was no stopping. Her hands slowly drifted down from his stomach to the top of his jeans. Without breaking her gaze from his, she quickly undid his belt, the top button and the zip, pushing his jeans around his ankles. His erection was evident now, only concealed by the thin material of his briefs. The next thing he knew she had completely flipped them around, and he was backed against the refrigerator. She kissed him fully again on the lips, while her hands worked his briefs over his erection. As it sprang free, she grasped it. It was his turn to moan. Her lips moved away from his and they began to travel across his jaw, down his throat, chest and stomach, until finally she was keeling in front of him, and her mouth was around him. It took every ounce of Jess' self control not to scream with pleasure. _

"Jess!"

"What? Oh, sorry." Jess was suddenly pulled out of his somewhat filthy reminiscing, by a somewhat perplexed looking Rory. And he hadn't even gotten to the part where she practically begged him to do her on the kitchen floor, and how being the gentleman he was, he obliged. Sometimes she had the worst timing.

"What where you thinking about just now?"

"About what happened the last time you referred to me as sweet. When Lori had the chicken pox."

"Really? I don't recall."

"You know you seem to be forgetting a lot lately. Particularly when it comes to our sexual history." For a brief moment, Rory was once again, silent. Then suddenly, after placing their glasses on the table, she was straddling him.

"Perhaps, then, you should try and refresh my memory."


	3. Do the Hokey Pokey and

31/08/2010 14:13:00

**This Thing Between Us**

**Chapter 3 - Do the hokey pokey and turn me upside down**

"Oohh-Oh, God! YEESSSS!" Rory groaned and panted as she rolled off Jess and onto her own side of the bed. Jess, also panting - and smirking.

"So, memory fully refreshed?" he asked, kissing her shoulder and then her neck.

"Mmmm, somewhat." Jess chuckled lightly; amused by her stubbornness. His fingers danced across her collarbone and chest, just above the thin white sheet, which was covering her breasts. Suddenly, Jess ripped the sheet away exposing her gleaming naked body. At first she looked shocked but she stared back at him defiantly. As if she was refusing to give him the upper hand.

"Well," he continued, "_somewhat _just won't do, will it?"

Rory lay fast asleep on Jess' chest, completely content. But Jess was wide-awake. He gently stroked her hair, unable to tear his gaze away. She was so beautiful. Despite their tenuous relationship, he had always thought that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Why were things always so difficult between them? They had never been able to function together, except as parents. Oh, and in bed of course, or wherever else they chose to do it. Up against the fridge or on the kitchen table, to name a few. Tonight, it had been the couch, floor and then finally they had made it to her bed, but that was beside the point. Even before Lori happened, they were never able to break free from one another. If Jess was a psychiatrist, he may have questioned whether or not they actually wanted to break free of each other. After all, when High School had ended they could have gone their separate ways. They didn't both have to go to Yale. Subconsciously, had they wanted to stay close to one another? It could be argued that Rory didn't want to be too far from home but what was his excuse? All his life he couldn't wait to get as far away as possible from Stars Hollow. Was it just fate? If they hadn't both gone there, he never would've gotten her pregnant at nineteen, and they wouldn't have become parents at twenty.

The becoming parents part was another matter entirely. For those whom had known them before Lori, it was just baffling as to how they got into the situation for him to get her pregnant in the first place. Those who met them later just assumed they were like all warring parents, bickering on how best to raise their child. Ironically, how to go about raising their child was perhaps the only thing that they actually agreed on.

Jess was pulled out of his thoughts when Rory began to stir. "Mmm, oh." She gasped. "So it did really happen."

"You weren't sure. Have you been dreaming about me again?" His cocky smirk was clear even in the darkness of her bedroom. She pushed herself off of him, and rolled back onto her own side of the bed, but said nothing. "Hey, do you want to try something new. How about for a change, instead of ignoring the fact that we've just had sex multiple times and then pretending it didn't happen until the next time it does, why don't we, for the first time in our lives, actually try to be adults and discuss what this actually meant?" Rory sat straight up, covering herself with the bed sheet as she did so.

"_You _want to talk about what _this _meant? Did you have this conversation with what's-her-name this weekend?" Jess, started to laugh, suddenly.

"Wow, I'm really having a good week so far!"

"JESS!"

"Of course I didn't have this talk with her! Rory we may have this really complicated, screwed up relationship but we've known each other forever. We created another life together. Why can't we just figure out what keeps pulling us together? What _is _this _thing _between us?" Rory lay still and silent for a few moments before finally answering him.

"I don't know Jess. But whatever it is, it can't affect Lori."

"I know. She'll always come first, Rory, you know that."

"I'll never doubt that, Jess. It's late, get some sleep." Jess sighed; he didn't really have the energy to fight with her more tonight anyway.

As the sun broke through the curtains the next morning, Jess awoke to find that he wasn't in his own bed. It took him a couple of seconds but then the events of last night suddenly came rushing straight back. But there was no sign of Rory anywhere. He couldn't even hear her in the kitchen making Lori breakfast. He reached for his watch on the bedside table; 'Huh', he thought. No wonder he couldn't hear them – it was 9:30. Rory must have been dropping Lori off at school. Shame, he loved having breakfast with his daughter. But, well, her mother sure knew how to wear him out!

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the front door open and shut. He got up and out of the bed, wrapping the white bed sheet around his waste as he did so, and then made his way into the living room.

"Morning." Rory looked up surprised. She turned slightly pink at seeing his attire but she didn't make a comment.

"Still here?"

"Apparently. Lori, get to school alright?"

"Yes. Fine."

"Why didn't you wake me?" She shifted awkwardly, and then started sorting some papers, which were spread out on the coffee table.

"I just didn't to confuse her Jess."

"What's confusing about her having breakfast with her parents."

"That's she having breakfast with them both at the same time! She was already asking questions, Jess."

"What about?"

"About what happened last night. She heard things." Jess suddenly broke into a fit of laughter.

"Really? What did she hear?"

"Just _things_."

"Like you?" She reddened even deeper. Jess was uncontrollably. Almost loosing the sheet around his waist, in the process.

"It's not funny, Jess!" He carried on laughing. "Jess!"

"Oh, come on its a little funny. What did you say when she asked?"

"Nothing, I just told her I'd had a bad stomach ache. She seemed satisfied by that, but well, you know I hate lying to her. My Mom never lied to me growing up. I mean, she never really had to, she always kept her personal life separate from her life with me, until I was old enough to understand." Jess sighed slightly. He couldn't help but ponder about how different his and Rory's childhood's had been, despite them practically standing next to each other the whole time. Lorelai and Liz were a lot a like, but Lorelai always put Rory first. Liz got very easily rapt up with her relationships. But he supposed mother and son relationships would always have a different dynamic than mother and daughter.

"Rory, I'm not some guy you just pulled off of the street or met in a bar; I'm Lori's father. And let's face it, this isn't exactly the first time this has happened. Hey, we were going for a world record in high school!"

"Jess!"

"My point is Lori won't be emotionally scared if she see's her parent's acting remotely nice to each other, or expect us to suddenly be the picture perfect family."

"I just don't want her getting her hopes up or something. She has asked you know."

"About?"

"Why we don't live together like Lily and Kimie's parent's do. Or like Tommy MacMillan's Moms." Jess stared incredulously.

"Wait she has friends with gay parents but none with divorced parents?"

"Well, the majority of the kids at her school seem to be the result of second or third marriages, anyway. Although, rumour has it Daniela Mincski's father will be looking for number four soon."

"Is her Mom the one with the-"

"Clearly fake boobs? Yes." Jess sighed and rubbed his neck.

"So, what did you say to her or have you said to her about the subject?"

"Nothing really. Normally I try and change the subject but when I can't I just say that it's just what works for us." Jess froze at these words. _This – worked?_

"And this works for us does it?" Suddenly he was infuriated. Rory was shocked by his sudden change in tone and demeanour.

"Yes, I'd say it works! Lori's happy, that's all that matters!"

"No, RORY! Lori's happiness is what matters the most, yes! But it's not all that matters! Our happiness matters too!"

"What's that supposed to mean? You're not happy? You always seem pretty pleased with yourself to me!" He shook his head, knowing he wasn't getting through to her.

"Satisfied, maybe but not happy. Rory, neither of us has ever led a conventional life; and I'm not just talking about being raised by single teenage mothers in that weirdo town! We always seem to be living at warp speed; we were parents really young despite everyone we knew warding us against it, our careers have climbed higher in three years than most peoples' moves in ten-"

"Well we've worked really hard Jess!"

"I know that! You think I don't know that? But despite the speed in which we seem to always be moving in, I still feel stuck! I have this vision that in a few years everything will be the same! Our careers will be moving, Lori will be older and in a different school, but we won't have grown or changed at all! In fact we'll still be in the same place we were where when we were sixteen! Too stubborn and proud to let childish arguments go but still let our hormones do all the thinking! Sometimes I feel like, although we know practically everything about one another, we're still complete strangers."

"What's that supposed to mean Jess? You can't know everything about someone and still be a stranger!"

"I said practically everything. You can know everything about a person except just this one thing but if you don't know it then you're still a stranger! It's how you _feel_! Knowing what the other person feels is what counts, not knowing how many times they've read 'the Fountainhead,' and how they like their eggs. Not even, what position they like best!"

"YOU'RE ONE TO TALK! YOU'RE NOT EXACTLY OPRAH! HALF THE TIME I NEED A THOUGHT BUBBLE ABOVE YOU'RE HEAD JUST TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING, LET ALONE HOW YOU FEEL! WHY SHOULD I TELL YOU WHAT I FEEL, WHEN YOU NEVER TELL ME! WHY SHOULD I BE THE ONE TO SPILL MY GUTS AND RISK EVERYTHING! IT WORKS BOTH WAYS JESS!"

"I'M TELLING YOU NOW! I'll tell you, shall I, about how I felt like the luckiest person on earth when we first had sex, and then how I felt like complete crap when, as soon as it was over, you left for a date with DEAN! And just how special I felt to be the last person on earth to find out I'd gotten you pregnant! Or perhaps, even after all the crap we've put each other through, all I want to do is try and make you realise and understand-"

"Understand what?"

"THAT I L-NOTHING! NOTHING AT ALL!"


End file.
